Spreadsheets - Formatting Data


Here are some common formatting tricks that are buried in the formatting menus of Open Office:
Always use FILE - PAGE PREVIEW to confirm that your formatting is working properly.
Spreadsheets_Preview.png


1. Borders

  • Select a range of cells
  • Use FORMAT - BORDERS
    • Choose a 1.00pt line width
    • Choose a line arrangement second from the right

(Spreadsheets normally don't print the grids between cells unless you apply some borders)
Spreadsheets_Borders02.png
Spreadsheets_Borders.png

2. Landscape vs Portrait Pages

  • FORMAT - PAGE
    • Choose LANDSCAPE if you need your spreadsheet to print out WIDE

Spreadsheets_Landscape02.png
Spreadsheets_Landscape.png

3. Text Wrap

within Cells
  • FORMAT - ALIGNMENT
    • WRAP TEXT
  • Widen the columns and expand the row height appropriately to accommodate the info
Spreadsheets_Wrap02.png
Spreadsheets_Wrap.png

4. Header & Footer


  • FORMAT - PAGE
    • Header - uncheck "Header On"
    • Footer - uncheck "Footer On"
Spreadsheets_Header.png

5. Freeze Titles


You can "Freeze" the titles at the TOP and or LEFT sides of your spreadsheet so that they are always visible, even when you have long lists of data
  • Put the cursor in the TOP - LEFTmost cell that you want to scroll
  • From the dropdown menu, use WINDOW - FREEZE